Tathva International Secondary School's Sidaarth Kumarevel was crowned winner of the 7th Japan Times Bee on Saturday after besting his 37 rivals by correctly spelling philhellenism.
"The competition was really tough as there were many good spellers, but studying hard paid out," the 12-year-old spelling sleuth said at Japan Times Nifco Hall in Tokyo.
The victory earned Kumarevel, who was born and raised in Japan, the right to represent Japan in the finals of the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington in May. There, he will compete against nearly 300 fellow spellers from around the world for the $30,000 prize.